Dieppe, 1942: The Folly and the Sacrifice

Operation Jubilee

An exemplary account of this wartime fiasco

A story of heroism and futility that will live for the reader long afterwards

Andrew Roberts, author of ‘Churchill: Walking with Destiny’

A masterclass of heart-stopping historical narrative

Bishop's account of the operation is the best I've read

A fascinating, shrewd and timely reflection on leadership in a time of crisis

Henry Hemming, author of 'Our Man in New York'

Patrick Bishop is the author of two hugely acclaimed bestsellers about the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, Fighter Boys and Bomber Boys, and books including Wings, a history of the RAF, and Air Force Blue, which celebrated 100 years of the RAF and was a Sunday Times bestseller. He spent twenty-five years as a foreign correspondent covering conflicts around the world.

On the warm night of 18 August 1942, a flotilla pushed out into the flat water of the Channel. They were to seize the German-held port of Dieppe, destroy key installations, seize intelligence material and then sail for home. 
 
This was the greatest amphibious operation since Gallipoli, with the biggest accumulation of fighter power ever assembled. But by the morning of the attack, one of its architects already feared that the operation would "go down as one of the great failures in history". Its key players claimed it was essential to D-Day, with the media telling listeners that it was a success -- but the tragedy was all too predictable. 
 
Using first-hand testimony from combatants and civilians, and colourful analysis of the roles of Mountbatten and Montgomery, bestselling author Patrick Bishop's gripping account brings Operation Jubilee powerfully and vividly to life, in an epic demonstration of how ambition, folly and courage came together in one of the most tragic episodes of the war.

Patrick Bishop

Paris ’44 tells the story of the occupation and the liberation, but it does not read like military history . . . The book resembles some epic thriller, with vividly evoked characters all somewhere on the spectrum between collaboration and resistance, shame and glory . . . Paris ’44 is a wonderful book: droll, moving, with a cinematic eye and not a boring line in it

An evocative account of the city’s liberation . . . Bishop is such a skilful writer, with a sense of nuance and an eye for memorable anecdotes, that even readers familiar with the story will enjoy his book enormously . . . history, like life, is complicated, and Bishop’s admirable book treats it with the respect and care it deserves

Dominic Sandbrook, host of The Rest Is History

Patrick Bishop follows a tradition of British and American historians interrogating aspects of wartime history that the French themselves prefer to avoid. His beady-eyed Paris '44 takes a panoramic view of crumbling Nazi administration, approaching armies, foreign correspondents, Resistance fighters, opportunist Gaullists and various collaborators, sharply depicting the faultlines of rivalry among the liberators

How close Paris came to being laid waste – and many of its citizens being massacred in an almighty bloodbath – is vividly and thrillingly recounted by British war historian and Paris resident Patrick Bishop. We re-live the tension of those terror-filled days

Fascinating . . . gripping . . . Bishop tells the story of the liberation by reporting, as if he were there, how a rich cast of characters lived through its key moments

Gives a vivid impression of what it might have been like to be there on that wonderful day . . . for those who prefer their history to be romantic, this book is the one. It's all here . . . in full Technicolor, told at a blistering pace

Excellent . . . a fresh, unexpected take on the liberation of Paris

Julian Jackson, author of France on Trial: The Case of Marshal Pétain

Bishop writes with admirable brevity and insight

An extraordinary moment of history brought to vivid, pulsing life. Rich with suspense and layered with intrigue

A fascinating narrative about a little known period of Parisian history with a cast of characters worthy of a Blazac or Victor Hugo novel. Yet, this isn’t fiction – it’s a meticulously researched account full of surprising anecdotes and fascinating people that unveils much about modern-day Paris

Edward Chisholm, author of A Waiter in Paris

[Bishop] pulls no punches in emphasizing that the story of Paris’s liberation from the Germans by its brave citizens was a myth, invented for political purposes by Gen.Charles de Gaulle . . . This is a thrilling account of a notable episode of the last phase of World War II, told with authority as well as a wealth of unpublished anecdotes.

Patrick Bishop

Praise for Paris '44

Paris ’44 tells the story of the occupation and the liberation, but it does not read like military history . . . The book resembles some epic thriller, with vividly evoked characters all somewhere on the s ...

An evocative account of the city’s liberation . . . Bishop is such a skilful writer, with a sense of nuance and an eye for memorable anecdotes, that even readers familiar with the story will enjoy his book enormo ...

Patrick Bishop follows a tradition of British and American historians interrogating aspects of wartime history that the French themselves prefer to avoid. **His beady-eyed Paris '44 takes a panoramic view of ...**

Paris ’44 tells the story of the occupation and the liberation, but it does not read like military history . . . The book resembles some epic thriller, with vividly evoked characters all somewhere on the s ...

An evocative account of the city’s liberation . . . Bishop is such a skilful writer, with a sense of nuance and an eye for memorable anecdotes, that even readers familiar with the story will enjoy his book enormo ...

Patrick Bishop follows a tradition of British and American historians interrogating aspects of wartime history that the French themselves prefer to avoid. **His beady-eyed Paris '44 takes a panoramic view of ...**

Paris ’44 tells the story of the occupation and the liberation, but it does not read like military history . . . The book resembles some epic thriller, with vividly evoked characters all somewhere on the s ...

An evocative account of the city’s liberation . . . Bishop is such a skilful writer, with a sense of nuance and an eye for memorable anecdotes, that even readers familiar with the story will enjoy his book enormo ...

Patrick Bishop follows a tradition of British and American historians interrogating aspects of wartime history that the French themselves prefer to avoid. **His beady-eyed Paris '44 takes a panoramic view of ...**

Books by Patrick Bishop

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Praise for Paris '44

Paris ’44 tells the story of the occupation and the liberation, but it does not read like military history . . . The book resembles some epic thriller, with vividly evoked characters all somewhere on the s ...

An evocative account of the city’s liberation . . . Bishop is such a skilful writer, with a sense of nuance and an eye for memorable anecdotes, that even readers familiar with the story will enjoy his book enormo ...

Patrick Bishop follows a tradition of British and American historians interrogating aspects of wartime history that the French themselves prefer to avoid. His beady-eyed Paris '44 takes a panoramic view of ...

Paris ’44 tells the story of the occupation and the liberation, but it does not read like military history . . . The book resembles some epic thriller, with vividly evoked characters all somewhere on the s ...

An evocative account of the city’s liberation . . . Bishop is such a skilful writer, with a sense of nuance and an eye for memorable anecdotes, that even readers familiar with the story will enjoy his book enormo ...

Patrick Bishop follows a tradition of British and American historians interrogating aspects of wartime history that the French themselves prefer to avoid. His beady-eyed Paris '44 takes a panoramic view of ...

Paris ’44 tells the story of the occupation and the liberation, but it does not read like military history . . . The book resembles some epic thriller, with vividly evoked characters all somewhere on the s ...

An evocative account of the city’s liberation . . . Bishop is such a skilful writer, with a sense of nuance and an eye for memorable anecdotes, that even readers familiar with the story will enjoy his book enormo ...

Patrick Bishop follows a tradition of British and American historians interrogating aspects of wartime history that the French themselves prefer to avoid. His beady-eyed Paris '44 takes a panoramic view of ...

Books by Patrick Bishop

Patrick Bishop follows a tradition of British and American historians interrogating aspects of wartime history that the French themselves prefer to avoid. **His beady-eyed Paris '44 takes a panoramic view of ...**

Patrick Bishop follows a tradition of British and American historians interrogating aspects of wartime history that the French themselves prefer to avoid. **His beady-eyed Paris '44 takes a panoramic view of ...**

Patrick Bishop follows a tradition of British and American historians interrogating aspects of wartime history that the French themselves prefer to avoid. **His beady-eyed Paris '44 takes a panoramic view of ...**